Little Mental Child
by Taco-Pizza-Milkshake
Summary: A threat from the Joker. "I won't stop until someone who is broken, is destroyed. Until that child falls into darkness...like myself." Zelda is that broken girl. A girl who finds it hard to even smile. This 15 year olds life will be put to the test. the test: survive the Joker. (Not a Joker/OC) this is dark. warning child abuse, rape, torture and language.
1. Chapter 1

It all started with destroying something that was broken. A threat from the Joker. "I won't stop until someone who is broken, is destroyed. Until that child falls into darkness...like myself." that was broadcasted on Gotham news.

Nobody knew who Joker would target parents with depressed children worried constantly, wouldn't let them leave the safety of their house.

Doctors in the Child Mental Asylum were on constant guard. They made sure every door was locked at night. Each child, and teen were safe in bed at night. They were always watched. Some people didn't mind, but there were others who fought and yelled.

Zelda Marks was a girl who didn't care she was being watched, well-acted like it. She was the girl with a story she wouldn't tell, scars on her wrists, and thighs, a smile that hid her sadness, dark bags under her eyes from sleepless nights. She was the girl who hated being touched, she'd cry if she was yelled at. The girl that was afraid of everything no matter if it was supposed to save her. She was the girl who showed up with bruises on her neck the day she came, which looked like she had put a rope around her neck

Zelda was only 15. She was smart, and acted friendly towards all. Her brown hair was a pixie haircut, her eyes were blue, and her skin pale. Her body type was rather small for a girl her age, she had an eating disorder she was 5'2 in height.

The girl, Zelda sat in the recreation room reading her book from her parents. 'The Great Gatsby' which she would have been able to finish if someone hadn't ripped the book from her hands. She looked at her hands and then up at the person who took it. It was a guard, who apparently had been calling in her name for the last 3 minutes.

"You have a visitor." The guard said looking down at the girl, who looked up at him with a frown before pushing herself up.

"My parents said they weren't coming this time," Zelda said as she patted down her white shirt and white pants. She padded after the guard looking around curiously as she made it to the visitor center. She saw her blue haired friend Zach with his dad, her other friend Sarah talking with her friends from school who still visited her. Just a pain of jealousy hit her before she noticed a man sitting by himself looking at some papers, his hair was a dirty blonde color, he wore a jacket and what looked like could have been cover up on his face. The man was hunched over in the chair just reading. Zelda looked up at the guard.

"Well go on..." The guard said as he walked away and stood by the door. Zelda carefully walked over to the chair looking at her white slip-ons before sitting down.

The man smirked to himself before looking at the girl. "You must be uh.. Zelda." He said and the girl nodded and watched as he shoved the papers he was reading into his jacket pocket. She brought her eyes to his and swallowed thickly. They were a dark brown color, almost soulless. The eyes themselves hid a playful glint in them.

"Who are you?" Zelda's quiet voice asked as she looked him over. This man looked familiar but she couldn't place a name to his face. She watched as the man smiled.

"Joseph Kerr." Joseph said as he leaned forward into the table hands on the table intertwining them. Zelda leaned back into her chair. "But my friends call me Jo." He said with a laugh. The laugh made Zelda sick. It scared her.

"Why are you here?" She said still using her quiet voice. Joseph seemed to smile more at her.

"I'm a reporter." Joseph said as if it was obvious holding out a badge he took from his pocket before shoving it back in before she could really look at it. Zelda sat up slightly still holding her confused look. "I asked for a seemingly quiet child, who would behave rather well…" He lied but Zelda didn't know that.

Zelda opened her mouth to say something but just smiled that sad smile she always had on intertwining her hands on the table. "What would you like to know Mr. Kerr?" She asked using her warm voice. Joseph licked his lips and looked at her scared up arms, before looking at her face.

"This place it's so…" He looked around the room, the white and metal room before looking at her uniform. "You're so plain." Joseph said and Zelda looked at herself before shrugging

"You're right…" Zelda stated with a chuckle. "This is the only clean one I have though. In the recreation room I paint in there sometimes, and I "accidently" spill paint on myself." She said a sliver of a real smile appearing before it was gone. "They can't afford to buy me new ones...so why not...no color is just...going to drive me insane..." she said with a faraway look before shaking her head. She looked at Joseph who was watching her intently.

"The kids here…" He smirked gesturing to some of the kids in the room, and then pointing at her. "They don't look crazy...you don't look crazy…" He said leaning back in his chair eyebrow raised. He dropped his pointed finger and watched her

Zelda shrugged "Maybe some of us are just broken on the inside..." She whispered looking down. "And people think we need help being put back together…" she started rubbing her hands together, like she always did when she felt an anxiety attack coming on. She blinked away tears that Joseph did indeed see. "Some just can't be helped…" she said and swallowed thickly. Joseph watched her hands before going to take it once having her wrist it was instantly taken from him as she held it to her chest. "Don't. Touch. Me." She said an angry voice. A voice no one would have ever thought would come from her. She was glaring at the man, who raised an eyebrow bringing his hand back to himself.

"I like you." He smirked and tilted his head before standing up. She held a confused look again before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry…" She said looking at her own hand before dropping both hands in her lap.

Joseph shrugged "Why so serious?" he asked before he looked around stopping at the guard before just walking out and leaving. The girl froze and watched him. That saying...That had to be a coincidence…right? He sounded just like the Joker…

Joseph Kerr...Jo Kerr...Joker..

Zelda just sat there frozen looking at her pale slender fingers scratching her hands. Fear filled her stomach and felt bile rising up in her throat. She was getting pale in the face her eyes filled with tears. The threat ringed in her eyes. 'I won't stop untill someone who is broken, is destroyed'

Zelda started hyperventilating and fell out of the chair covering her ears and rocking before she knew it a doctor was rushing over to her trying to shake her out of this before taking a needle out of his pocket and injecting the sedative into her. She looked at the doctor with a confused look

"Don't let him take me please…" Was the only word she was able to choke out before she went limp and was carried to her room.

It was night when Zelda woke, a dazed look in her eyes as she looked around her little white room. The girl groaned as she slowly sat up looking at her still dressed self. She was hoping what happened was just a dream, but she remembered it to vividly to think it was a dream, and she only ever had one dream, but that is a story for another time.

Zelda rubbed the back of her neck kicking her shoes off, blinking her eyes until her vision was no longer fuzzy. She slowly stood up popping her back and started walking down the cold metal floor to her little bathroom shutting the door behind her and leaning against the sink and looking at her reflection.

Zelda just stared at herself. Her small hand felt her cheeks and rubbed her eyes before sighing and running a hand through her hair still looking at herself. She didn't feel pretty, she felt like she was nothing. Especially nothing the Joker would take. She rolled her eyes at herself for thinking he'd take her. She let out a small laugh.

"You're not important..." Zelda said to her reflection. "Nothing special…" she said that last part looking down before sighing and looking back at herself in the reflection. "You're worthless...You can't be happy because a part of you will always be sad!" she started yelling at herself shaking her head as her tears fell. "Anytime anything good happens...you ruin it by being sad." she continued. "Look at you sad little Zelda!" She mocked the mirror.

Zelda stopped. She was yelling at herself. She covered her eyes as she let more tears fall. She was crazy...Before she knew it she was hitting the mirror hurting her hand in the process. She looked at the little crack in the mirror and then at her bleeding knuckle. "Look what you did you idiot…" she whispered to herself. "Now you're going to get in trouble.." she shook her head as she turned the sink water on cold and placed her bleeding hand under it narrowing her eyes at her hand. Zelda didn't care much for pain, well pain only caused by herself. When other people hurt her. It hurt, and she'd scream.

Zelda turned the water off and grabbed a paper towel drying her hands and wrapping her hand in the paper towel walking back to the door and swinging it open looking at her hand as she did so. Something felt wrong as she stood in her room looking down at her hand. She looked up to see a man in her room. Not just any man the Joker.

Zelda froze in place looking over the horrible man. She looked at his greasy green hair and white face with the large red smile. His eyes looked even scarier now. He looked worse in person than on TV. The purple jacket and pants, his whole appearance.

Joker was staring at her with a smirk, his head tilted as she stood frozen in fear. He took this time to take in every movement, every little tremble and twitch as her brain tried to register what was happening.

Zelda soon found her voice. "Help!" she called out desperately "Somebody!" she tried to make a run for the door but her legs had turned to jelly in fear causing her to fall over her own two feet landing on her stomach.

Joker cackled happily as he skipped over to her and jumped on her sitting on her back before swiftly covering her mouth and flipping her over onto her back. His purple glove stroked her hair roughly causing the girl to flinch and struggle against him her hands grabbing his trying to push his hands off her mouth. He was using so much force he was hurting her head that was against the metal. Her tears started falling as she looked up at him as he stroked her hair roughly still.

"Shh...shh" He shushed her. He giggled "Now, now...we can do this the hard way...or the easy way.." He said "And you can show me what you choose when I left my...uh hand" he said as he lifted his hand.

"Get the hell off me!" she screamed and Joker giggled manically He grabbed a fistful of her short hair and lifted her head up roughly causing her to scream.

"I was hoping you'd pick the easy way...but I love the hard way muuuch more Zellllda" He drew words out and said her name darkly. She watched him with her wide terrified eyes before Joker crashed her head down on the metal floor hard. And the last thing she saw before she blacked out was Joker's laughing face hovering above her.

**What will happen next my friends? **

**Please tell me what you think! :) That way I will have motivation to write more.**


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda groaned quietly to herself as she started waking up for a second time. It was much later now. Around midnight. Her head was throbbing and she was having trouble concentrating everything was fuzzy. She couldn't even think straight.

Zelda went to move her arms but found she couldn't. That's when everything started kicking in. Her heart started pounding rapidly. Her eyes widened. She looked around finally being able to see. She was tied to a chair her arms tied to the arms of the desk chair and her legs tied to the legs of this chair. She arched her back though every movement she made hurt her head and arms. Whoever tied her down, tied these ropes way to tight…

The room she was in was dark except for just a small light hanging from the ceiling dangling over her. There was blood on the floor and walls, that she wished was just paint. The rest she couldn't see except for maybe a door.

"no..no...no" Zelda whispered as she started crying shaking her head wincing in pain and closing her eyes. This wasn't a dream. This was real. This was happening...Joker was going to kill her...

Zelda looked up as the door opened revealing the Joker holding the camera, the sudden burst of light from the other side of the door caused her to wince in pain from her head. Zelda averted her eyes from the dark twisted man and his goons before her. She closed her eyes and started breathing heavily as she heard them inch closer to her.

"Look Gotham…" Joker giggled happily as he pointed the camera at the girl dressed in white. "I kept my wooord" he said in a sing song voice. He got closer to the girl and patted her cheek roughly She jerk her head away from him and winced groaning at the pain in her head. "look at me." He said casually.

Zelda shook her head slowly eyes still closed and head turned the other direction. She was starting to get dizzy. "LOOK AT ME!" Joker growled loudly resisting the urge to drop the camera and grab her face. Zelda's eyes snapped open and she looked at him new tears starting to fall as she watched him smile and giggle. "Tell the world your name?" The joker said in his usually nasally voice. Zelda just looked at him frozen in fear. "Tell them!" he yelled

Zelda hung her head slowly eyes casted up to the camera. "Z-Z-Zelda M-Marks…" She stuttered her voice in a whimpery state. The Joker cackled.

"Z-Z-Zelda." He mocked her voice. She let out a quiet sob. "Stop crying!" he said giggling. "I haven't even hurt you yet!" he bounced with the camera.

"Please let me go!" She found her courage, she yelled at him through her tears. "I haven't done anything wrong!" she cried

Joker broke into a mad fit of giggles. "See Gotham...I told you she's a strong one!" He laughed. He turned the camera towards himself. "I'm going to keep true to my promise Gotham…" he paused licking his lips slowly "She'll be destroyed and maybe...She'll be... just. like. me…" he said the last three words slowly before turning off the camera and throwing it over his shoulder, one of the goons catching it taking the tape out and leaving.

Zelda looked at the two men left in the room. One wore a clown mask and the other was of course the Joker. She was shaking with fear by this point. She quickly casted her gaze to the ground tears falling. Her shoulders slumped as she slowly started shaking from crying.

Joker smiled wildly. This would be fun. He took a few steps forward.

"Mista J!" A squeaky voice called from the door. Zelda looked up to see a woman with curly blonde pigtails, she had piercing blue eyes and a carved in smile to match her 'Mista Jay'. She seemed to be wearing short shorts and one of Joker's button up shirts and tie, and green and purple stocking that went up to her knee with one green converse and the other purple. She had words carved into her legs and arms a bunch of 'HA HA HA's that she wore proudly.

Joker let out a puff of air through his nose an angry look on his painted face. "What?" he snapped turning and looking at her. The girl with the blonde hair flinched. She didn't answer for a few seconds with a scared expression. "Harley!" he yelled at her to snap out of her paralyzed state.

Harley jumped slightly. "T-The news is on.." She said in a pout. "Y-you're in it.." she said as she looked down to the ground. The Joker smiled giddily and turned around to Zelda who was watching the scene with a scared expression. Joker smiled at her he took her by her hair and pulled her hair back roughly turning her head from side to side. "I have to go take care of some business...in the mean time...you should smile more…" He let go of her head and headed out the door. He bumped into Harley roughly making her stumble backwards pouting.

Zelda had more tears falling by now. she couldn't even speak. She stared at Harley who looked her up and down and then put her nose in the air. "Hm." she hummed in her squeaky voice slamming the door shut leaving the girl all alone.

Zelda started shaking with sobs, jerking her body in different ways trying to get out of the chair. The final jerk made her chair fall sideways making her already aching head hit the ground. She groaned and was dizzy again she just laid there on the floor in her uncomfortable position. She cried weakly shaking her head.

_He didn't come back that night. _

Zelda woke the next morning around 11 to the sound of the door opening. She looked up to see a pouty clown faced mask goon coming towards her and untying her. "Boss wants to see you.." The man behind the mask said.

Zelda still being half asleep nodded slowly and after being untied was pulled up from the ground slowly. She looked at the man with a confused look as to why he was being so gentle.

"I'm Matt." He whispered in her ear as he led her out of the room Zelda flinching at the sudden light before watching him as he guided her to another room slowly.

"Zelda.." She whispered. quietly her voice hoarse from screaming.

The goon nodded pausing before entering the room. "I know I saw you on the news this morning…" He said. and then the clown mask guy looked down and sighed. "Sorry for this…" and then he roughly pushed Zelda into the room. Zelda yelped at the sudden contact with the floor. She winced at the mad giggling from the Joker afterwards.

Joker started walking towards her a smile on his face as she slowly picked herself up and started walking backwards into the wall. Matt the goon stood in the doorway watching. she looked around for an escape, but there was two more goons in the other doorway of the room.

Zelda whimpered as the Joker now stood in front of her taking her chin in his hand looking at her face. She stared back at him. He chuckled at her.

"I make you nervous…" he stated letting go of her chin and reached in his pocket for something. Zelda's eyes never left his scarred face. "Is it the scars?" He asked as he brought a knife between their two faces. She could see her own reflection in it.

Zelda swallowed thickly. It wasn't the scars that made her nervous, it was him, and the knife near her face. She was frozen the wheels turning in her head. She could be brave for once in her life right? She was going to die anyway…

Zelda brought her gaze to his face. He was watching her intently waiting for the answer to his rhetorical question. "N-no it's the fact you're a sick freak." she said smacking the knife out of his hands quickly. Which was a dumb since she cut her hand open, and it was bleeding out now. Joker laughed maniacally

"You're not smart are you?" He asked with a large smile. The goons all besides Matt were laughing. Zelda watched as he drew his fist back. She had a feeling she was going to be punched in the face and moved her body just in time. He punched the wall where her head should've been. There was now a little dent in the wall.

"Holy shit.." She whispered. The Joker didn't look very happy any more at this point as he shot a glare at her. He tilted his head smiling now.

"There's fight in you.." Joker licked his lips slowly as he started stalking towards her. "This'll be fun…" He said.

"Get the hell away from me you bastard!" Zelda snapped as tears started fall down her cheeks. She was such an idiot she should've just taken whatever Joker wanted to do to her. "You're fucking crazy!"

Joker laughed "I'm not crazy…" he said lowly. "Boys…" he looked over at the goons standing in the doorway "Get me a chair and some duct tape." He said and the two goons ran off.

Zelda watched him afraid to move before she looked at the open doorway. It was worth a shot. She looked at Matt who was shaking his head before she started taking off quickly.

Zelda was panting now her heart thumping, she could feel the adrenaline as she ran down the hallway with many doors with room numbers. She figured this was an abandoned hotel or apartment area. A hope filled her heart. Maybe she could escape. She ran faster as she saw a hallway that led to the stairs.

That's when she heard it. Someone was chasing after her. 'Don't look back.' she thought to herself. It was too late she had already turned partly to see and There he was running after her The Joker. He had a smile on his face. Turning around made her slow down slightly and now he was catching up to her.

Zelda got to the stairs and slowed down to start running down those, she was caught off guard as she felt two hands on her back pushing her roughly down the tile stairs.

Zelda felt it all, every thud, every head bounce off the steps, some of her ribs she heard crack, and of course she felt it her nose was broken. She didn't even scream as she fell down the steps until the last step when she landed on her wrist hearing the snap. She was crying more than she ever had slowly spitting out blood.

Joker was tutting at her as he walked down the steps in a giddy fashion smiling all the while holding the railing and soon stopping at her. "You'll loon soon enough Zelda not to run away from me…" He knelt down and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder. She yelped. everything hurt. She couldn't even fight back.

Joker made his way up the steps. He held her legs tightly humming to himself. When Joker reached the room he was thrilled to see the chair in the middle of the room and a goon holding duct tape.

Matt was standing where he once was. His clown mask hiding his concerned face. He had a daughter around her age…Which made this hard for him to watch. He didn't want this to happen to some child...this was monstrous..She already looked bad enough. Blood was already running down Zelda's face onto her white shirt. She had dark bruises on her arms and some on her face.

Joker sat her in the chair. He took the duct tape and started running around in a circle duct taping her to the chair, arms close to her body he stopped when he was just about out and took off a small piece placing it on Zelda's mouth. Joker smiled happily and took a sharpie out of his pocket and drew a smiley face on it.

Joker cracked his knuckles "This is going to be fun…" he said slowly. "Get the camera" He said to Matt and the goon walked away coming back a minute later with the camera in hand. He handed it to the goon that usually held the camera. The goon with the camera nodded at the Joker once it was on.

Joker smiled as he looked at the camera. The goon was by him in a few seconds pointing the camera at Zelda who looked at the ground helplessly. "Look Gotham! She's still alive!.." He laughed as he took the camera "Look how happy she is!" he said referring to the duct tape smiley face. "But she won't be in a second.." He used his pouty voice. "She has to be punished for trying to run away…" he sounded happy after that. Soon the camera was in the other goons hands.

Zelda hadn't felt as much pain in her life then she had in those 10 minutes...her white uniform definitely wasn't white anymore more red and dirty. She found it hard to breath her left eye hurt from being punched in the eye, her stomach hurt her shoulder hurt...just everything.

Joker was just about to do some more damage when the voice of Matt stopped him. "I think she's had enough.." his voice wavered. Joker looked over at the man before laughing. Matt was taking his mask off, the goon with the camera pointed at him.

Matt was an older man, with black graying hair and wasn't very strongly built he had a goatee that held some gray hairs in it. He dropped his mask to the floor and looked at the Joker.

Zelda looked up at the man, her tears subsiding. Joker looked at her and the the fallen mask. "someones trying to play hero.." he laughed. "bad idea…" he said. "Shut the camera off" he said to the goon holding said camera who obeyed immediately.

Matt tried to stand tall, but anyone could see the man's courage was faltering. "She's just a kid." he spat at the joker. He rolled his eyes and looked to Zelda gesturing to the man as if to say 'Really?' before pulling out a gun and shooting Matt in the head. He instantly fell backwards blood pooling around his body.

Zelda screamed well tried to anyways, mouth still muffled as she cried pathetically. Someone died trying to help her...She wouldn't look at him, she felt terrible..

Joker chuckled and looked at her. walking back over to her. "Look at him," He said and tilted his head as Zelda instantly obeyed afraid of anymore consequences "He tried to save /you/." He laughed and looked down at her head near hers. "No one can save you Zelda...not even Batman..no matter where you go, if you do get away..I will find you and bring you back…" He said.

Zelda looked at the dead body of Matt and felt sick, that was a lot of blood..she didn't like blood. She looked at the Joker who started laughing.

"Am I interrupting?" A voice said in the doorway leaning against the wall. Joker looked up before Zelda and smiled happily. When Zelda looked at the man with the cold blue eyes her heart stopped.

She knew this man, the man that terrorized Gotham before the Joker became huge. The man who was well known for his treatments at Arkham Asylum and the Child Mental Hospital… Dr. Jonathan Crane or mostly known as the Scarecrow…

"Doctors in the house!" Joker laughed jumping up and going to stand beside Crane. Crane raised an eyebrow holding a smirk on his face.

"Well isn't it Zelda Marks.." Crane said with a smug smile. Oh yes. Zelda's old physiatrist. Zelda whimpered but it was muffled. Crane had tried to back when she had first entered the mental hospital tried to get her to spill all of her fears what made her tick and when she wouldn't he tried to use his toxin on her. but before he could go through with his plan she asked for a new doctor saying Crane made her feel "Uncomfortable".

Joker smiled "Good you to know each other!" he said happily. He looked at Zelda "Good thing too," he smiled even more "He's your new doctor…"


End file.
